Barry Yelverton, 1st Viscount Avonmore
Barry Yelverton, 1st Viscount Avonmore, PC (Ire) KC (28 May 1736 – 19 August 1805), was an Irish judge and politician, who gave his name to Yelverton's Act 1782, which effectively repealed Poynings' Law and thus restored the independence of the Parliament of Ireland. This achievement was destroyed by the Act of Union 1800, which Yelverton supported. By doing so, he gravely harmed his reputation for integrity, which had already been damaged by his leading role in the conviction and execution for treason of the United Irishman William Orr, which is now seen as a major miscarriage of justice.
Early life[edit]
Born at Newmarket, County Cork,[1][2] he was the eldest son of Francis Yelverton of Kanturk, County Cork, and Elizabeth Barry, daughter of Jonas Barry of Kilbrin (now Ballyclogh, County Cork).[3] His father died when Barry was only ten; his mother reached a great age, dying only a year before her son. He went to school in Charleville[3] and Midleton College, and attended Trinity College Dublin, where he took a degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1757 and of Bachelor of Laws in 1761.[1] His family lacked wealth and social position[4] and he was for some years an assistant master under Andrew Buck in the Hibernian Academy. This menial occupation was later a source of great embarrassment to him, as his enemies loved to ridicule him as "Buck's usher".[5]
In 1761, he married Mary Nugent (died 1802), daughter of William Nugent of Clonlost, County Westmeath, and his wife Ursula Aglionby, a lady of some fortune, and was thus enabled to read for the Irish Bar,[5] entering the Middle Temple.
He was called to the Bar in 1764: despite his lack of family connections his success in his profession was rapid, due to his legal ability, charm and remarkable eloquence, and he took silk eight years afterwards.
M.P.[edit]
He was elected to the Irish House of Commons as member for Donegal Borough from 1774 to 1776. In the latter year, Yelverton was elected for both Belfast and Carrickfergus. [6] He chose to sit for the latter constituency and represented Carrickfergus until 1784. Although few examples of his oratory survive, all contemporaries agree on his eloquence, which gave him a dominant position in the Commons. He also served as Recorder of Carrickfergus from 1778 until his death. This was not a Crown appointment: the Recorder was elected by a vote of the entire town corporation.
Personality[edit]
To his colleagues at the Irish bar, Yelverton was a popular and charming companion:[5] even John Philpot Curran, despite their frequent courtroom clashes, seems to have liked Yelverton personally. Curran and Yelverton were co-founders of the popular drinking club called The Monks of the Screw. Being a man of insignificant physical appearance, he owed his early successes to his remarkable eloquence, which made a great impression on his contemporaries; as a judge, he was inclined to take the view of the advocate rather than that of the impartial lawyer.[5] Ball considered him one of the most learned judges of his time.[4] While Edward Cooke called him "a brute", this simply reflects Cooke's low opinion of all the Irish judges of his time.[9] Sir Jonah Barrington wrote that for all Yelverton's faults, and his lack of any real moral code, it was impossible not to like and respect him.
He had three sons and one daughter, and the title descended in the family.
Children of Barry Yelverton and Mary Nugent: